Budapest Man Jailed for Knifing Supporter of Student Protest Movement
A Budapest man who earlier this year knifed a passenger on a bus for wearing a ‘Free SZFE’ face mask expressing support for the students of Budapest’s University of Theatre and Film Arts (SZFE) was sentenced to six years in prison in an expedited procedure on Friday.
Budapest’s 20th, 21st and 23rd district court also banned the man from participating in public affairs for a period of seven years, a spokeswoman of the Budapest chief prosecutor’s office said.
According to the non-binding verdict, the victim was travelling on a bus on Feb. 25 wearing a face mask expressing support for the students and staff members protesting against recent changes introduced at SZFE when she was confronted by the defendant. The defendant first got into a verbal altercation with the victim over the mask and then stabbed her in the face with an 8cm knife. He then got off at the next stop and fled the scene.
The West’s crisis of academic freedom
Knowledge as public good must be protected so that democracy can function
By Liviu Matei
A crisis of academic freedom is looming in Europe.
Usually, when academic freedom comes under fire in the West, people assume that it is a marginal issue, confined to countries like Hungary that have become increasingly authoritarian.
However, an honest reckoning would show that the problem is far more widespread than Europeans and Americans would like to admit.
Yes, things are bad in the country of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, where constitutional protections for academic freedom have been erased, gender studies has been denied accreditation as an academic course, and a former military colonel has been appointed chancellor of the Budapest University of Theatre and Film Arts.
Medical Universities Can Switch to Debated Foundation-based Model
The medical universities’ switch to the new, government-preferred foundation-based working model is on the agenda. So far, eight higher education institutions did so or were forced to do so, and two more would switch over in 2021. The government says it aims to raise competitiveness and reliability. The Hungarian way, however, differs from the international examples, and is still under debate from many aspects.
According to the government’s proposal, the new working model follows international tendencies, namely the Anglo-Saxon way. Instead of the state, the newly-established foundation will exercise the founders’ rights and procedural application. Its board of trustees would accept the budget, the annual report, the organizational and operational regulations, and be responsible for the institution’s development and asset management. Decisions will be brought by them, instead of the democratically-elected sen